Security

While all of us will always have much more to learn about the plant world, the mere presence of healthy plants is often enough to reassure us on a deep-seated level (consciously or not) that we will be OK. Some have hypothesized that this response relates to the time we roamed the grasslands when the sight and smells of living plants and the sound of running water told of our survival for the foreseeable future. Today security must also be understood in the context of potential disruptions to the food chain and access to essential resources (water, energy, etc.), with the added concerns of climate change. Our literal security -- as well as a daily felt sense of it -- is linked to our participation in maintaining plant diversity, reducing carbon footprints, learning the value of growing our own food and medicine, supporting local efforts of the same, conserving resources, and closing the food and water loop through composting and grey water recycling.